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About 15000 years ago, there was a bridge of land between, what we call now Siberia, and Alaska. (Bering Strait). Nomadic people crossed this landbridge 25000 to 15000 years ago. Soon, they settled all over America, these people were the first indians.
Some thousand years later the vikings crossed the Atlantic ocean and landed at L ´Anse aux Meadows, lived there, but left the land. Scientists found rests of stone - built houses, but for the vikings, the land was to hard for living.
500 years later, the Europeans came to "Canada". They went fishing at the Grand Bank fishing grounds. During summer, they stayed there, the stories they told lateron were the reason for the first settlements of European people in North America.
1.1) The Indians
Naturally these settlements made some problems. First the Indians were willing to share the land with the newcomers, but the Europeans needed more and more land, so the Indians had to leave their territories. The settlers traded with goods for land. The white people didn´t understand the indians, but they didn´t kill them. The "Canadian" indians didn´t have the same fate as the "American" indians. They didn´t die because of their skin, but because of their unstable immune system. They died of influenca and other illnesses which were brought in by the settlers. This development killed many indians.
There are three groups who call themselves the First Nations. These are the Indians, the Inuit and the Métis.
They want to distinguish themselves from the Europeans because they came in the 16th century. The three groups were the first. The Europeans did not discover the land, they invaded it.
Today there are six main cultures, some of them no longer exist.
1.) The Woodland Indians
2.) The Iroquains
3.) The Plain Indians
4.) The Plateau Indians
5.) The Northwest Coastal Indians
6.) The Subarctic Indians
1.2) Kanata
In
1497 John Cabot claims the New World territory for England. He probably landed in Newfoundland. Only 40 years later on an voyage to Canada in
1534, Jacques Cartier gave Canada the name.
Kanata means in Huron Indian - a settlement. Cartier meant it referred to the whole land he had discovered. He sailed up St. Lawrence River and claimed this area for France. The place he claimed for France is part of the present - day Quebec.
He established the first permanent European settlement near the St. Lawrence River. And in
1608 French explorer Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec city. The life was very hard, the Indians unfriendly and adventurers came to find gold. But they made their money with another good of Canada. They made beaver hats who became very modern in Europe. Soon in
1660 there were over 3000 merchants, farmers, soldiers, living at the Banks of St. Lawrence River. In
1663 the French crown takes control of the colony of Canada.
Some adventurers found, that it would be better to build a trading company to control everything. They tried to interest the French people for this idea but they didn´t want to hear anything about that. So they began to talk with English king Charles II and his brother prince Rupert Count Palatinate of the Rhine, Duke of BAVARIA. They persuaded a group of English salesman who should pay for the idea. In
1668 two adventurers sailed to Canada and built the Hudson´s Bay Company which was really established in 1670 with the English Royal Charter.It said that they would get control over all lands drained by rivers which flow into Hudson Bay. The first president of the Hudson´s Bay company was Prince Rupert.
It was highly succesful. Until today the Hudson´s Bay company is one of the most important trading companies in Canada. They began as a fur trading business which exchanged European goods for the furs of the Indians. This business sent the people further and further inland so the Hudson´s Bay company eventually became responsible for the settlement of western Canada. After 327 years of trading, the company has become smaller but for the Canadians it is still a honour and an opportunity to work for the company. The British seemed to rule the land, but the French people were the ones who worked and transported the goods. Their work was even harder than those of the British.
But by this time the British settled in other regions.
1713 the Hudson bay, Newfoundland and mainland Nova Scotia became British because of the treaty of Utrecht. In the
18th century they began to build the settlements along the Atlantic coast. They built Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia.
Soon the French, who were isolated in Quebec began to feel overpowered by the British. When the British began to explore the country the conflict grew.In
1755 the French and Indian war began. There was an open conflict between France and Britain for the control of North America.
The Seven years War came to Canada. In
1759 the British captured Quebec city. and defeatet the French at the battle of the plains of Abraham. This development led
1763 to the Treaty of Paris, which said that Quebec would become British.The next hundred years there was very little change in Canada, the French became more and more overpowered by the British.
But the 65.000 French inhabitants kept up fighting for their tradition and this led to the
Quebec act in 1774. Britain guaranteed the French civil laws and religious freedom. In Quebec most people were Roman Catholics, in contrast the others were mostly protestants.
After the American war of independence in
1776 many English speakin people came to Canada and settled in Upper Canada which is now Ontario. The French remained in Lower Canada, now Quebec.
In 1812 American troops fail to invade British North America
After rebellions by French settlers, the two colonies became the United provinces of Canada in 1840
English became the official language.
In 1867, Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick became the Dominion of Canada, this law is called the British North America Act.
The provinces of Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan were formed between 1870 and 1905.
The remaining land became the North West territories.
In 1871 B.C. joined The dominion of Canada, 1873 Prince Edward Island joined, and Yukon was established in 1898. Newfoundland became Canada´s 10th province in 1949.
1939 Canada receives formal independence from Britain. 10 years later Canada becomes a founding member of the NATO.
And finally in 1965 Canada adopts the Maple leaf flag.
1.3. Immigration
Canada is a land of immigrants. All Canadians are either descendants of immigrants or immigrants themselves.
Early immigration came mainly from France and Britain.
By the first decade of the 20th century, an important source of immigration was continental Europe, like Germany.
After the WWII another mass of immigrants came to Canada, they saw Canada as a refugee of wartorn Europe.
During the 1960ies when there was a boom in the economy, immigration reached a high.(222.876)
This led to an immigration policy in 1967. The new system introduced was based on points which were given for language skills, education, technical abilities, and abilities to create jobs in Canada.
Canada asks itself who many immigrants should be allowed in the 21st century. Furthermore the problem was established what impact the non - white immigrants will have on the terms of social problems.
The development of immigration is similar to the waves of immigrants in America.
The first Canadians didn´t come with the Mayflower but on the same way and regarded themseves as the founding people. These groups were the British and the French. Like the Americans they regarded the later arriving people as minorities and discriminated them in some way although this development was not as grave as in America.
From 1880 on Jews who were fleeing from Progroms in Europe came to Canada. The majority came from Russia, Poland, others from Roumania.
The assimilation was easier than in America. The Jewish Colonization Association helped the people to become farmer. The problem was, that the jewish didn´t know hardly anything about farming. For this reason they gave it up after a few years. The first Jewish Member of Parliament was Henry Nathan, who was elected to represent Victoria in British Columbia after entering in the Confederation, without any doubts, an important and new period in the development of the Jewish and British Columbia.
With this, so called wave, Swedish, Danish, German settlers came to Canada .
The construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway led to an influx of immigrants which began with the construction in the last 20 years of the former century.
The first Chinese people came to Canada when the gold rush began. The first came in 1858 but many people had already given up in 1866. Like in America they only tried to make money and then they returned to China. But in 1885 it ended for the Chinese, not with a tremendous effort but with the experience of brutally hard work.
The next "wave" of immigration happened after World War I. It is astonishing that the majority of immigrants came from China. This development led to the Chinese Immigration Act. During the next 18 years only 15 merchants, clergymen and students were allowed to enter.
Many Canadian soldiers came home to Canada with brides.
From 1920 to 1929 many people from wartorn and unstable countries came to Canada.
Pre WWII immigration was significant Jewish dominated. From Adolf Hitlers talk of a "master race" on , many Jews fled as refugees to Canada, from 1930 on to 1939 there was a constant flow of Jews to Canada, reaching a high slightly before the beginning of WWII.
The Jews coming to Canada, were mostly rich and famous. Scientists, educators, engineers and industrialists, came to Canada
After WWII, the Post - war immigration took place.
Soon the stream of "displaced persons" came to a flow.
It was remarkable that many of those persons were people with former occupied positions of prominence. They were business leaders and industrialists, educators and scientists.
The main stream of immigrants came from Britain and generally from Central Europe.
The Hungarian revolt in 1956/57 led to an dramatic uprise of Hungarian refugees. 35000 immigrant arrived.
1.4 The Railway and the Waterways - important factors in the development of Canada.
Canada´s first prime minister John A. MacDonald had the dream to bind all the nations together. When, in 1871 British Columbia entered the Confederation, the citizens weren´t that patriotic. They felt they should belong to the south.
So John A. MacDonald made the building of a railway from the Atlantic to the Pacific his top priority. He felt that only by these measures, Canada would be safe from all influences from the United States.
It was a very hard work through the 1870´s, the last spike was driven in the mountains of British Columbia. Canadian Pacific Rail Road, completed on November 7th 1885 Between 1880 and 1885, 3,040 kilometres of tracks were added to the 1,100 kilometres still built.
The waterways were an important factor in the industrialisation of Canada.
Since the 17th century the St. Lawrence Seaway system has been the major feature in the North American Transportation system. It includes the five Great Lakes, Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario, which were all drained to the Atlantic ocean by the St. Lawrence river. The total lenght of this system is nearly 3,000 kilometres.
Canadas longest river is the Mc Kenzie river, with a lenght of nearly 4,000 kilometres from the source in the Rocky Mountains to the Arctic Ocean.
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